Work projects occurring at job sites, such as construction job sites, typically require frequent communication between job site personnel and off-site personnel located remote from the job site. Job site personnel can include project managers, superintendents, foremen, job crew personnel, and sub-contractors. Off-site personnel can include architects, engineers, project managers, and construction project developers or owners. Job site and off-site personnel typically communicate by the exchange of documents, such as computer-aided design (CAD) drawings, paper-based blueprints, daily reports, regulatory compliance forms, and punch lists. These are typically paper documents and thus require communication via postal mailing or other delivery by hand.
Currently, the communications systems used by job site and off-site personnel include cellular telephones and facsimile machines. These communications systems lack the ability to conveniently store, update, and communicate the array of complex documents typically exchanged by job site and off-site personnel. Additionally, these communications systems lack the ability to clearly and conveniently communicate job site problems that need professional resolution, such as by an architect or engineer. Thus, a communications system is needed that is operable to communicate the types of documents and other data typically exchanged between job site and off-site personnel.
Therefore, it is desired to provide a communications system that can electronically communicate documents, such as CAD drawings, daily reports, regulatory compliance forms, punch lists, and any other job site-related documents between a job site and a remote location.